Worth burning, if you were trying to send a message.
“Ready for that coffee, Detective Soto?” Lavender appeared beside her table without being summoned, ceramic mug already in hand. “You look like you could use it.”
Lena accepted the drink, inhaling steam that carried hints of cinnamon and cloves. “Thank you.”
“On the house.” Lavender’s smile held layers of amusement that suggested she was enjoying the evening’s entertainment far more than she should. “The fire marshal’s almost finished with the inspection. Thorough, that one.”
Lena followed Lavender’s gaze to the corner table where Erin had spread her paperwork, her red hair catching the lamplight as she wrote up her findings. The inspection jacket had been shed, revealing practical sleeves rolled to the elbows and thekind of focused intensity that made everything else fade into background noise.
“Mmm.” Lavender made another one of those knowing sounds. “I’ll bring her coffee too. Looks like she could use the company.”
Before Lena could object—and why should she object?—Lavender had moved away, carrying a second mug toward Erin’s table. Some quiet exchange followed, too low to hear, but Lena caught Erin’s surprised glance in her direction before Lavender returned to the counter.
Now they were both drinking coffee in the same place, the elephant of their earlier argument sitting heavily between their tables. Lena told herself she was conducting surveillance, observing a potential targeted location during its normal, everyday routine and learning the patterns an arsonist might exploit.
She wasn’t staying because she was curious about what Erin had found. She certainly wasn’t intrigued by someone who’d challenged her methods with such unwavering convictions.
Definitely not.
Twenty minutes passed. The evening’s playlist—something mellow with acoustic guitar and a woman’s voice singing about second chances—created an intimate backdrop for conversations happening at other tables: couples sharing dessert, students closing laptops and gathering books, the comfortable rhythm of a community space that was much more than just a business.
Erin finished writing, gathered her papers into a neat stack, then glanced toward Lena’s table. For a moment, their eyes locked onto each other across the cafe and something passed between them that felt like acknowledgement. Not quite a truce, but perhaps mutual recognition that they were both still here.
Erin stood, report folder in hand, and approached Lena’s table.
“Mind if I—?” She gestured toward the empty chair.
Lena nodded, curious despite herself.
Erin sat, setting her folder on the table between them. “I wanted to clarify something about the inspection findings.”
“Oh?” Lena kept her voice neutral, though she found herself leaning slightly forward.
"The electrical vulnerabilities I mentioned, they're consistent with what I saw in the case files from the other fires." Erin opened the folder, revealing pages of neat handwriting and technical diagrams that looked more like engineering blueprints than inspection reports. "Both previous locations had similar safety issues that were never addressed."
Lena's attention sharpened, her detective instincts recognizing the shift from casual conversation to something more substantial. "What kind of issues?"
"Outdated wiring, compromised electrical panels, and inadequate fire suppression." Erin pointed to her notes about Lavender's space, her finger tracing lines that meant nothing to Lena but clearly told a story to someone who understood buildings the way Lena understood crime scenes. "The same types of vulnerabilities that would make a building burn faster and be harder to evacuate safely."
Lena leaned closer to study Erin's documentation, recognizing the thoroughness even if the technical details were beyond her expertise. The handwriting was precise, methodical, the kind of attention to detail that reminded her of her own case files. "You think someone's specifically targeting buildings with these problems?"
"I think someone knows what to look for." Erin's voice carried a conviction that cut through any lingering doubt about her competence. "Someone's clearly doing their homework."
For the first time since they'd met, Lena found herself taking Erin's analysis seriously. "The community center and warehouse both had code violations," Lena said slowly, pieces clicking together in her mind.
"Exactly. And if I'm right about the pattern, places like Lavender's could be next." Erin leaned back slightly, and Lena caught something like a challenge in her expression. "You can't just chase the arsonist after they strike. You have to understand what they're looking for."
The words stung because they had truth in them. Lena had been reactively chasing this person, always one step behind. “And you can't stop what you haven't caught," she replied, though the comeback felt weaker than usual.
"We need both approaches," Erin said, and the word 'we' hung between them like an unexpected truce.
Neither of them wanted to admit their methods might actually complement each other, but the acknowledgment felt significant anyway. Lena found herself studying Erin's face, looking for signs of the condescension she'd expected, finding instead something that looked like respect.
"I'll be inspecting other potential targets tomorrow," Erin said after a moment. "Community center branches, the women's resource center, and the youth center on Grove Street."
"I'll need that full list." The words came out more automatically than demanding.
"I'll email it to the department." Erin's slight smile suggested she'd noticed the change in Lena's tone.
